Interview with Markus Pommer

Sunday, 16 October 2016 18:52

He is a former German Formula 3 champion, but decided to make a switch to racing in GT's and wants to pursue his career in racing for a long time. In 2016, Markus Pommer drove in the strong ADAC GT Masters and Blancpain GT Sprint Series. Lately, RacingInside.com spoke to the German racing driver about his career and future goals.

Hello Markus, some of our visitors will be familiar with the name of Markus Pommer. Unfortunately, some of them may have never heard of you. Could you give a brief introduction about yourself?My name is Markus Pommer, I am 25 years old and living in Neckarsulm, Germany. Neckarsulm is famous for the former “NSU Motorenwerke AG” and the current Audi factory. Nowadays, I am a GT driver and I have also spent many years in karting and single seaters.

Some race drivers are getting involved in racing through friends or family. How did you get involved in racing? Did your parents support you from the early beginning?When I was young I started karting during holidays in Tenerife. Every time I went to Tenerife I asked my father to go to the karting track. My father was also a karting driver and saw my talent when I overtook the older kids. On my eighth birthday, I got my first own racing kart. That´s how it all started.

You have started your career in karting, like many other drivers. Do you think karting will be an essential step in the career of a race driver?In my opinion it is very important. Karting prepares you for the next steps. You get the reflexes, handling, technical knowledge and you learn essential racing manoeuvres. Besides of that, you learn that racing is a whole lifestyle. You need a lot of dedication.

During the first years of your career, while racing cars, you have raced in single seaters and even won the German Formula 3 Championship in 2014. Why did you made the switch to racing in GT’s, lately?I had a long time in single seaters. But, for the next steps like GP2 Series or Formula V8 3.5 I did not find a proper deal. I also was not the youngest anymore, so I decided to start a new step in my career and entered the world of GT racing which offers me new chances.

Every race driver has good and bad moments during his career. What is your best moment in racing, until now? What is the moment you would like to forget as soon as possible?My best moment was when I was winning the German ATS Formula 3 title.

My worst moment was in 2012. In this year I had good chances to win the FIA F2 title on the last racing weekend. Unfortunately, in both races I had technical issues. I finished the season as fourth in the final standings. The worst part on the story is that the first three drivers in the championship got a super license and the champion got a F1 test with Williams.

If you take a look ahead, what would you like to achieve during your further career in racing?In my further career, I want to become a factory driver. I also have many other goals; like winning the ADAC GT Masters series and other high level series.

The life of a race driver is tough physically and mentally. Do you have a special training programme to stay fit and to gain strength?I train a lot to stay as fit as possible. When I was in single seaters, I did a lot of strength exercises. This year I´m focusing more on a cardio vascular system. In the GT cars it is quite hot and the races are longer. I also try to eat as clean as possible. During the winter, I use to drive a lot of indoor kart to stay sharp and focused. Before the races, I practice on my home simulator. Therefore, I use the Rfactor simulation game.

From the outside, being a race driver looks like a real dream. But there are also negative points, of course. If you could take people a look at the ‘inside’ of racing, what do you think is the most negative point of being a race driver?For me, racing is a passion. I love every aspect of the pure racing and driving. Sometimes you have ups and downs, but in general I am very thankful to be a racing driver and would like to continue as long as possible.

If you could change lives for a day with another racing driver, who would you switch your life with and why?I would love to have been a racing driver in the old days. I think the talent was way more important as the budget and the driving was more difficult and risky.

What would you like to say to everyone that is dreaming of a career in racing?Keep always believing in yourself, surround yourself with the right people and have fun!